He is born in Huesca in 1938 and rather soon he moves out into Sabadell. He studies at the Escola Massana and in 1973 he graduates in the Barcelona Llotja (Art school). He is a follower of Juan Torras Bach, a well known watercolour master. Three years later he arranges his first individual exhibition in Sabadell, to be followed by many others both in Spain and abroad: Zaragoza, Madrid, Soria, San Sebastian, Seville and Paris, New York.
He has participated in the Salon Des Nations, in Paris, and in 1996 he was warded the Silver Medal of the Catalonian Agrupación de acuarelistas. His work is to be permanently found in the Fondo Internacional de Arte de Barcelona (Barcelona International Art Fund) besides a number of private collections at Banco de Sabadell, Banco Bilbao and at the University of Navarra Directorate.
To watch any of Sanagustín's works means to step into the personal gaze of a nature lover. His Aragonese origin accounts for his penchant for the highlands and this is why he is also so much interested in the Catalan geography.
His spirit is always looking for carefully chosen isolated spots. Hislonging to portray nature as he senses it impels him to itemize every season of the year with its own peculiar luminous and chromatic shades. Thus, we can see wistful snowy landscapes contrasting with the bareness of the trees; the bright red and orange outburst of autumn leaves or the precise pinks of the exulting springtime.
He is an aquarellist, and that demands great skill. He is never allowed a second try. His dexterity can be evaluated by the minute and gently suggested detail of foliages, but also by the way he goes into detail with textures. It requires a very special technique to achieve such a degree of blurred effects.
Every now and then, he also includes some human figures, but they are always vague as compared with the passionate nature depicted. He reminds us of that feeling of loneliness and awe of man confronted against his most primeval side.
He is also interested in marine motives where many different spots of the Catalan coast prevail. He combines the blue of the sea with the smart whites of the houses of the little traditional fishing towns. He plays with elements such as those ropes loaded boats that emphasize so well the fishermen's daily chores.
The art critic F. Galí told us one of the secrets of this artist: He never wants to limit himself to the many resources he masters; on the contrary, he gets additional pleasure out of researching and trying to go each time a little further in a procedure such as watercolour that is so much tied up to a moment's emotions.
Bibliography: "Pintors". Josep M.Cadena; Francesc Galí; Joan Iriarte.
Go to the painter's exhibition
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